Cultivating Your Soil
Several years ago, when we lived in North Carolina, we removed some unsightly shrubbery in our front yard. That left a large bare spot in which we wanted to plant grass seed. But before we planted grass seed, we needed to cultivate and prepare the soil to make the ground ready, thus not inhibiting the new grass from growing. If we had simply spread grass seed on hard dirt, it would not likely grown. We worked the soil to break it up and also to help us find rocks, twigs, weeds, and possibly roots still left behind after digging up the shrubs. After making the ground ready we then planted grass seed, but even with proper conditions it was slow to germinate and grow. It did eventually fill in nicely,
The same can be said of our daily walk with Jesus. We need to cultivate a proper lifestyle that will then be conducive to growing closer to Jesus. Peter, in outlining how to grow in spiritual maturity, says this –
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins” (2 Peter 1:3-9).
As a side note, in the opening verse of both 1 and 2 Peter, the author identifies himself as Peter (Simon Peter in 2 Peter). However, based upon language, dating, structure, and style, there is reason to believe that Peter was not the author of either epistle, possibly both written by different authors pseudonymously. Dictating letters was not uncommon, and in the closing verses of 1 Peter, we see that whoever wrote this epistle had help from a man named Silas (5:12).
Are you doing the necessary things to produce the proper conditions for Jesus to grow in you? Are you spending time with Jesus every day? Are you reading and meditating upon Scripture? Do you listen for the voice of God? Do you seek His guidance and wisdom? Do you pray regularly (conversation with God, not simply “asking” for things)? Those are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself.
So, no matter how closely you walk with Jesus today, it should be your desire to walk even closer – to have properly cultivated and ever-improving soil so that Jesus’ presence can grow in you. Ask Him today to help you work your soil so that His presence fills your entire being, and watch how those bare spots begin to fill in.
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